Starting Cultivation During a Trip

In the morning, sunlight seeped through the thin mist, draping Qin Ancient Town in a golden cloak.

The courtyard gate of the Zhang Family Ancestral Mansion slowly opened, and Zhang Fan walked out. After taking two steps, he paused slightly, turning back to glance at the small building behind him.

This small building, like a spectator of time, witnessed the rise and fall, grievances, and affections of the South Zhang lineage.

People come and go, yet it stands still there.

Zhang Fan gazed at it, and it seemed as if it was gazing back at him.

"Who has the ability to see the Technique..."

At this moment, these four words lingered in Zhang Fan’s mind, refusing to fade away.

The clues left by Zhang Tian Sheng, regarding the Ninth Method, amounted to these four words.

Perhaps, even that renowned Divine Oracle pondered the mystery of these words until his death.

"Zhang Fan..."

Just then, a familiar voice carried from not far away, pulling Zhang Fan’s thoughts back to the present.

Zhang Fan looked up and saw Ge Shuangxiu sitting by the roadside, seemingly waiting for a very, very long time.

"How did it go?" Zhang Fan walked over and asked casually.

Last night, Ge Shuangxiu single-handedly fended off three opponents—Wang Qi, Ge Changfeng, and Qiu Wanmian—to help him.

"What could happen? They’re all down, I never leave loose ends," Ge Shuangxiu said calmly, as if recounting a trivial matter.

From afar, the blaring of sirens cut through the morning’s silence.

"The disturbance last night was too great; they’ve already closed the roads," Ge Shuangxiu said gravely.

Last night, three Celestial Masters perished here, causing quite an uproar, especially Zhang Tianyang’s final Hexagram, Absolute Heaven. As dazzling white light cut through the night, many ordinary people saw it—even attempts to cover up are futile.

Just wait for the local authorities to issue a statement, probably some conventional excuse like a gas pipeline explosion or unusual weather.

"This place is destined to be anything but calm," Zhang Fan sighed softly.

Over thirty years ago, the fall of South Zhang began here.

More than twenty years ago, when Zhang Fan was born, a massive fire broke out on this old street, burning half of it.

Now...

"Let’s go; this town will soon become bustling," Zhang Fan said somberly.

The death of three Celestial Masters is an earth-shaking event; soon, all major sects of the Daoist Sect will know.

Shangjing will send people, and so will the Qiu Family...

At that point, Qin Ancient Town will be much livelier than it is now.

"A place of right and wrong," Ge Shuangxiu nodded in agreement.

The two left the Zhang Family’s Old Mansion, leaving the old street behind, and returned to Zhu Lake Grand Hotel.

Passing by the lakeside embankment, Zhang Fan paid special attention; the elderly painter, who was Zhang Tianyang, was gone, and even the small boat waiting by the lake had disappeared.

Just as he said, perhaps this was the last time they would meet.

Zhang Tianyang, both a remnant of the old era and the last gravekeeper of the South Zhang lineage.

"Everyone has their own fate; everyone has their own destiny..."

Looking out over the endless Pearl Lake, Zhang Fan murmured softly.

In one night, he had gone through much, deeply moved.

"What’s wrong with you?" Ge Shuangxiu asked, noticing Zhang Fan lost in thought.

"Old Ge, do you think those ancient Daoists, who retreat into the mountains, away from the Red Dust, can truly avoid trouble, escape the various tribulations of the world?" Zhang Fan suddenly asked.

"Hmm!?" Ge Shuangxiu was stunned by the question.

"Immortals are created from mortals, but if mortals lack determination... As long as one exists in this Red Dust, tribulations are everywhere," Zhang Fan whispered, gazing out the car window.

It was as if he was speaking to himself, or whispering to the heavens.

"Why are you suddenly so full of sentiment?" Ge Shuangxiu changed the subject with a serious tone: "Was this trip in vain?"

This trip was originally planned to strategize against Chen Dragon, but the current situation exceeded everyone’s expectations.

"Not quite," Zhang Fan shook his head.

This journey was not in vain; he learned much about the South Zhang lineage’s past, untangled the grievances between his family and Chen Dragon.

After this night, he was sure that the feud between him and Chen Dragon was nearly impossible to reconcile.

Leaving aside the past and positions, her last words last night were a call for an unending fight.

"Human Xiao, I can kill the first one, or the second one..."

It was a naked threat, looking down from above, wielding control over all life and death, whether the first or second, all touched Zhang Fan’s reverse scale.

This destined that only one could live between them.

"The affairs of the world are truly unpredictable," Zhang Fan sighed.

Though they share the same origin, the last incense of the South Zhang lineage, they have walked different paths, even coming to a point of life-and-death confrontation.

The mystery of fate couldn’t be more profound.

"Have you become stronger!?" Ge Shuangxiu suddenly asked.

At that moment, Zhang Fan’s emotions surged slightly, his aura leaked, letting Ge Shuangxiu sense something unusual.

"A little progress," Zhang Fan chuckled.

He refined Qiu Buyi’s Primordial Spirit, already stepping into the Great Master Eighth Realm, but more importantly, he had witnessed the Celestial Master battle, felt the grandeur and pressure of Celestial Beings, especially the shock and wonder of their demise—these were the most precious gains.

Such experiences were the root of Zhang Fan’s transformation, and for a long time to come, both the experience and its lessons would have great impact.

Of course, besides this, Zhang Fan also obtained clues to the Ninth Method, even if he hadn’t yet deciphered its secrets.

All things considered, this journey wasn’t in vain.